Saber Interactive, a developer that has faced scrutiny over its use of artificial intelligence, has issued a statement promising that it will not replace human employees with AI technologies. This comes after a controversy involving the upcoming game 'Rideshare Simulator' and its potential use of generative AI.
Tim Willits, Saber's chief creative officer, addressed the concerns, stating, "We will never fire someone and replace them with AI." He clarified that while the main campaign of 'Rideshare Simulator' features human-written dialogue, a "free ride" mode intends to incorporate real-world current events. To achieve rapid updates for this feature, Saber is utilizing AI to generate content on a weekly or biweekly basis.
Willits also confirmed that several other Saber titles, including games based on Hellraiser, Turok, Stuntman, and Space Marine, do not employ AI. He likened the industry's approach to AI to a collective societal effort to understand a new technology. "We want to figure this new technology out, and we don't know exactly where it's gonna go, and our players don't know where it's gonna go, so we're all ... all of us are trying as a society to figure this out together," Willits said.
Responding directly to claims of staff being terminated and replaced by AI, Saber stated this is untrue. The company asserted that its writing staff has tripled since 2023 and that the story for 'Rideshare Simulator' was entirely written by human writers. "Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people," a Saber spokesperson previously informed PC Gamer. The developer also noted that "the number of passengers in the game is infinite," necessitating the use of generative AI for its experimental free-ride mode.
Saber emphasized its long-standing use of AI tools to enhance gameplay and NPC behavior since its founding in 2001, claiming that none of its over 3000 employees have cause to worry about being replaced by AI. The developer also acknowledged that CEO Matthew Karch had apologized to a former writer who had claimed to be laid off and replaced by ChatGPT. Karch reportedly regretted escalating the situation and the subsequent online discourse directed at the writer.